From the Editor: Success and Growth in the Trenchless Field

Happy new year and welcome to 2018! Hopefully you are entering this new year with a positive outlook and an eye toward continued growth.

I know from my desk, I see nothing but positive trends for the trenchless industry. This Winter 2018 issue of Trenchless Technology Canada is proof of that. Starting with the Underground Overhaul project in Halifax, Nova Scotia – a true testament of the benefits of trenchless renewal.

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Halifax Water was faced with the daunting task of renewing 4 km of sanitary sewer pipe along a narrow linear easement between multi-million-dollar homes and the Northwest Arm, a recreational inlet off of the Atlantic Ocean. With the help of federal and provincial funding and through great teamwork between the owner, consultants, contractor and sub-contractors and the property owners, the project – which should have taken several years – was successfully completed in one construction season.

We also feature our annual Trenchless Technology Canada Roundtable. This year we spoke with members of our Editorial Advisory Board to get their take on the state of the industry across Canada. In meeting with the participants in October at the 2017 Trenchless Technology Road Show in British Columbia, I learned of many projects, studies and pilot projects under way across the country. Look for some of those to make their way into the magazine in the coming months.

Also, based on the discussion, and the resultant story, it is clear that trenchless will continue to grow across the country. Especially as municipalities receive much needed funding from the federal and provincial level – as Halifax Water did for its project – to renew or upgrade aging underground infrastructure. Look for growth in the fibre-install realm as well, as Dr. Ali Bayat notes in both the roundtable story and his “Last Word” column.

As Dr. Mark Knight pointed out in his Point-of-View column in our Fall 2017 issue, there is a rich history of leaders in the trenchless industry who hail from Canada. And there are many more working their way through university programs across the country.

If you didn’t see Knight’s column, you can read it here: bit.ly/trenchless-pov-fall-2017. A crop of those up and coming trenchless leaders can be found working under the direction of Dr. Ian D. Moore at Queen’s University. Read a profile of the Queen’s University NASTT Student Chapter.

On the Road

Educating and promoting the industry has been a cornerstone of Benjamin Media — our parent company — since the beginning. In 1993, we started hosting trenchless road shows and, in 2003, we first worked with the Centre for Advancement of Trenchless Technologies (CATT) at the University of Waterloo to host a Trenchless Technology Road Show in Southern Ontario. That event has become the largest trenchless-specific conference in Canada, and, in 2018, we’re heading to London, Ontario. The event takes place May 16-17. Visit catttrenchlessroadshow.com for more information.

This show is a great conduit for information whether it’s education and technology you are looking for or the latest trends happening in the industry. Trenchless Technology Road Shows blend classroom presentations, an exhibit hall and field demonstrations. The Road Shows have had a tremendous track record and that will certainly carry on in the future.

If you are interested in exhibiting at the show, contact Brittany Cline at bcline@benjaminmedia.com and she can hook you up with everything you need to know about the exhibit hall.
I hope to see you and perhaps share a pint in London, Ontario.

Sharing Your Story

One of the highlights of working on Trenchless Technology Canada is talking to the boots on the ground in the trenchless industry, hearing their stories, how they have grown their companies, how they embrace innovation and their concerns about the industry.

Whether you are a distributor, contractor, engineer or manufacturer, my door (well in this case email inbox) is always open. Feel free to reach out to me with news and story ideas or other ways in which we can improve the magazine to better suit your needs.

About Author

Mike Kezdi is an associate editor with Benjamin Media Inc. where he covers everything from compact equipment happenings, to the latest in trenchless technologies and oil and gas pipeline projects. Mike joined BMI in 2013 after seven years in the newspaper world at the top weekly newspaper chain in Northeast Ohio. Contact Mike at mkezdi@benjaminmedia.com